As conventional means for converting wind power energy into thermal energy, wind power energy is converted into electric energy, the converted electric energy is converted into thermal energy through a heat pump (see PTL 1 and 2 for example).
For example, “a cooling system using a wind turbine and a heat pump” announced in 1987 is known as an apparatus for driving a heat pump. This system converts wind power energy into electric energy by means of a wind turbine, the electric energy is charged into a secondary battery, and a refrigeration cycle (the heat pump) is operated by a DC generator.
As an example of the combination of a wind turbine and a heat pump, there is known a system in which a heat pump (a refrigeration cycle) is disposed outside the wind turbine, mechanical energy obtained by the wind turbine is transmitted through a rotation shaft passing through a tower, a compressor of the heat pump is driven to convert the mechanical energy into thermal energy, as described in PTL 2.